Commonwealth legislation

National Transport Commission (Road Transport Legislation – Mass and Loading Regulations) Regulations 2006

In ForceCTH

Jurisdiction

Commonwealth

Act Number

28 of 2006

Collection

legislative instrument

Plain English Summary

7/10 complexity

These Regulations reproduce a nationally uniform set of technical rules (in the Schedule) about vehicle mass, axle spacing, size, load projection and load restraint that apply to vehicles or combinations with GVM over 4.5 tonnes on roads and public areas. They create criminal liability for owners, drivers and towing parties for breaches and set monetary penalties. The instrument records its stated purposes (road safety, efficiency, reduced road damage) and preserves decision powers for the Commonwealth Minister (suspend/ vary) and vehicle registration authorities (e.g. declare complying buses).

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Deep Dive

7,140 words · generated 18/06/2026

What it does

These Regulations re‑state and make enforceable a nationally uniform set of technical requirements about vehicle mass, axle and tyre loads, dimensions and load restraint for road use, and create offences and penalties for non‑compliance. The instrument (regs 1-13) attaches a Schedule titled “Mass and loading requirements” (the Schedule) that sets out detailed limits and technical rules (Parts 1-3 of the Schedule) and definitions (Part 4). The Schedule governs vehicles with a GVM exceeding 4.5 tonnes, combinations that include such vehicles, and the loads carried on them (reg 5(1)). The spatial scope is limited to roads, adjoining areas such as nature strips, footpaths adjacent to a road, and public areas open to driving or parking, or areas declared under s 16 of the Road Transport Reform (Vehicles and Traffic) Act 1993 (the Act) (reg 5(2)).

Mechanically, the Regulations:

Prescribe single vehicle and combination mass limits (Schedule Part 1, cl 1.1 and 1.4), axle and axle‑group limits (Table 1), and axle‑spacing mass limits (Table 2, cl 1.3).
Require tyres and wheels not to be loaded beyond manufacturer limits and specify cold inflation pressure caps for tyre load ratings (Schedule cl 1.2(1)-(2)).
Fix size and projection rules for loads (Schedule Part 2, cl 2.1-2.4), including front/side/rear projection maxima, warning signal requirements and special maxima for multi‑deck vehicle carriers.
Impose loading and coupling obligations (Schedule Part 3, cl 3.1-3.2), including a performance standard reference for load restraint.
Make failure to comply with Schedule requirements an offence for owners and drivers (regs 6-8), set evidentiary rules (reg 9), and specify penalties that vary with the type of requirement breached (reg 10).

Current sections

Direct links to the current provisions in National Transport Commission (Road Transport Legislation – Mass and Loading Regulations) Regulations 2006.

Name of Regulations

1 Name of Regulations

These Regulations are the National Transport Commission (Road Transport Legislation—Mass and Loading Regulations) Regulations 2006.

Commencement

2 Commencement

These Regulations commence on the day after they are registered.

Road transport legislation—mass and loading

3 Road transport legislation—mass and loading

For section 7 of the National Transport Commission Act 2003 (the NTC Act), Schedule 1 sets out road transport legislation, in the form of Regulations, about vehicle mass and loading.

Note 1: The road transport legislation set out in Schedule 1 does not have the force of law (see paragraph 7(2)(a) of the NTC Act).

Note 2: These Regulations must be made in accordance with the Agreement (see subparagraph 3(b)(ii) of the NTC Act).

Note 3: These Regulations are not subject to disallowance—see regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 44(2)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003.

Note 4: These Regulations are not subject to sunsetting—see regulations made for the purposes of paragraph 54(2)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003.

Note 5: The text set out in Schedule 1 is that of the Road Transport Reform (Mass and Loading) Regulations (Statutory Rules 1995 No. 56). It has been formatted in accordance with current drafting practice (including styles of provision numbering and cross‑referencing). Those Regulations were approved in draft form by the Ministerial Council for Road Transport on 20 December 1993.

Note 6: The making of the Road Transport Reform (Mass and Loading) Regulations was notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 29 March 1995. No date was ever fixed under subregulation 2(2) of those Regulations.

Interpretation

4 Interpretation

(1) In these Regulations:

Commonwealth Minister means the Minister of the Commonwealth administering the Act.

the Act means the Road Transport Reform (Vehicles and Traffic) Act 1993.

Note: For the text of the Road Transport Reform (Vehicles and Traffic) Act 1993, see Schedule 1 to the National Transport Commission (Road Transport Legislation—Vehicles and Traffic Act) Regulations 2005.

(2) Words and phrases defined in the Schedule have the same meanings in the regulations appearing before the Schedule. (3) A note does not form part of these Regulations. (4) A diagram appearing in these Regulations is illustrative only.

Application of the mass and loading requirements

5 Application of the mass and loading requirements

(1) The Schedule applies to: (a) a vehicle with a GVM exceeding 4.5 tonnes; and (b) a combination that includes a vehicle with a GVM exceeding 4.5 tonnes; and (c) a load on a vehicle described in paragraph (a) or on a combination described in paragraph (b). (2) The Schedule applies only in the following places: (a) a road; (b) an area that divides a road; (c) a footpath or nature strip adjacent to a road; (d) an area that is not a road and that is open to or used by the public for driving or parking vehicles; (e) an area that is open to or used by the public and has been declared in accordance with section 16 of the Act to be an area to which these Regulations apply. (3) The Schedule does not apply to a vehicle or combination that is used only on a railway or tramway, or its load.

Note: Under section 15 of the Act, the Minister can, by notice in the Government Gazette, suspend the operation of all or part of these Regulations for a specified period, or vary them. A requirement in the Schedule does not apply to the extent that it is suspended or varied under the Act.

Compliance with requirements—motor vehicles

6 Compliance with requirements—motor vehicles

(1) If a motor vehicle or a load on a motor vehicle does not comply with a requirement in the Schedule that applies to it, each of the following persons is guilty of an offence: (a) the owner of the motor vehicle; (b) the driver of the motor vehicle. (2) A person who is both the owner and the driver of the motor vehicle may be punished only once for the same failure of the vehicle or load to comply with a requirement.

Compliance with requirements—trailers

7 Compliance with requirements—trailers

(1) If a trailer or a load on a trailer does not comply with a requirement in the Schedule that applies to it, each of the following persons is guilty of an offence: (a) the owner of the trailer; (b) the owner of any motor vehicle towing the trailer; (c) the driver of any motor vehicle towing the trailer. (2) A person who meets more than one of the descriptions in paragraphs (1)(a), (b) and (c) may be punished only once for the same failure of the trailer or load to comply with a requirement.

Compliance with requirements—combinations

8 Compliance with requirements—combinations

(1) If a combination fails to comply with a requirement in the Schedule that applies to it, each of the following persons is guilty of an offence: (a) the owner of the motor vehicle included in the combination; (b) the driver of the motor vehicle included in the combination; (c) the owner of a trailer included in the combination. (2) A person who meets more than one of the descriptions in paragraphs (1)(a), (b) and (c) may be punished only once for the same failure of the combination to comply with a requirement.

Proof of loading offences

9 Proof of loading offences

(1) In proceedings for a failure to comply with subclause 3.1(1), (2) or (3) of the Schedule (relating to loading a vehicle), it is sufficient for the prosecution to prove that the load on the vehicle was not placed, secured or restrained (as the case requires) in a way that met the performance standards recommended in the Load Restraint Guide: (a) published by the Australian Government Publishing Service on 12 December 1994; and (b) available from Commonwealth Government Bookshops. (2) In proceedings for a failure to comply with clause 3.1 of the Schedule, a document purporting to be the Load Restraint Guide referred to in subclause (1) must be taken to be the Load Restraint Guide, unless the document is proved not to be the Load Restraint Guide. (3) If the prosecution in proceedings for a failure to comply with subclause 3.1(2) of the Schedule (relating to securing a load on a vehicle) proves that the load, or part of the load, had fallen off the vehicle, the burden of proof is on the defendant to show compliance.

Penalty for an offence

10 Penalty for an offence

(1) A person convicted of an offence under regulation 6, 7 or 8 for a failure to comply with a requirement in Part 1 of the Schedule is liable to a penalty not exceeding $3 000 for an individual or $15 000 for a body corporate. (2) A person convicted of an offence under regulation 6, 7 or 8 for a failure to comply with a requirement in Part 2 or 3 of the Schedule is liable to a penalty not exceeding $2 000 for an individual or $10 000 for a body corporate.

Multiple offences

11 Multiple offences

A person who is convicted of an offence in relation to a vehicle or a combination that fails to comply with a requirement in the Schedule may be convicted of another offence if different parts of the vehicle or combination simultaneously fail to comply with the same requirement in the Schedule.

Failure to comply with certain exemption conditions

12 Failure to comply with certain exemption conditions

If: (a) a person is prosecuted for an offence under these Regulations; and (b) the offence relates to the failure of a vehicle or combination to comply with a mass or dimension limit specified in these Regulations; and (c) an exemption has been given under any Regulations made under the Act that is subject to the condition that the vehicle or combination complies with a greater mass or dimension limit than the mass or dimension limit referred to in paragraph (b); and (d) at the time of the alleged offence, the vehicle or combination was travelling: (i) on a route other than a route on which the vehicle or combination was permitted to travel under a condition of the exemption; or (ii) at a time other than a time at which the vehicle or combination was permitted to travel under a condition of the exemption; or (iii) accompanied by fewer than the number of pilot or escort vehicles required under a condition of the exemption; or (iv) with an aggregate mass that is more than 10% in excess of the limit allowed under a condition of the exemption; the exemption must be disregarded for the purposes of the prosecution.

Declaring buses to be complying buses

13 Declaring buses to be complying buses

(1) This regulation applies to a bus with 2 or 3 axles and a single steer axle that: (a) is not fitted with a compliance plate in accordance with the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989; or (b) is fitted with a compliance plate in accordance with that Act but the compliance plate indicates that the bus was manufactured before 1 July 1994. (2) The vehicle registration authority may declare that a bus equipped with an approved air suspension system is a complying bus for the purposes of these Regulations if the vehicle registration authority is satisfied that the bus meets: (a) the emergency exit specifications in ADR 44; and (b) the rollover strength specifications in ADR 59; and (c) the occupant protection specifications in ADR 68.

Schedule—Mass and loading requirements

(regulation 5)

Part 1

Mass limits

Schedule—Mass and loading requirements

(regulation 5)

Part 1—Mass limits

1.1 Mass limit for a single vehicle

The total mass of a vehicle and any load must not exceed the vehicle’s GVM.

1.2 Mass limits for tyres, wheels and axles

(1) The mass on a wheel or axle must not exceed the limit set by its manufacturer. (2) The mass on a tyre must not exceed the greatest load capacity determined for the tyre by the manufacturer at a cold inflation pressure that does not exceed: (a) 825 kilopascals for a radial ply tyre; or (b) 700 kilopascals for any other tyre. (3) The mass on an axle group or single axle must not exceed the limit provided for it in Table 1. (4) The mass limit in Table 1 that applies to an axle group that includes a retractable axle must be determined as if the axle did not exist, unless subclause (5) applies. (5) A retractable axle is part of an axle group for the purposes of Table 1 if, when the mass on the group exceeds: (a) 6 tonnes, in the case of a tandem axle group; or (b) 11 tonnes, in the case of a tri‑axle group. the tyres on the axle are in contact with the ground and the load‑sharing suspension system is operating on each axle (including the retractable axle) and tyre in the group. (6) The sum of the mass on the axle groups and single axles on a vehicle or combination must not exceed: (a) in the case of a complying bus without a trailer: (i) if the complying bus has 2 axles—16.0 tonnes; and (ii) if the complying bus has a rear tandem axle group fitted with single tyres on one axle and dual tyres on the other axle—20.0 tonnes; and (iii) if the complying bus has a rear tandem axle group fitted with dual tyres on both axles—22.5 tonnes; and (b) in the case of a combination consisting of a complying bus and a trailer—the sum of the mass limit specified for the bus in paragraph 1.2(6)(a) and the mass limits of the axle groups and single axles of the trailer as provided in Table 1; and (c) in any other case—the sum of the mass limits of the axle groups and single axles as provided in Table 1.

Table 1 Mass limits for single axles and axle groups

Description of single axle or axle group	Mass Limit(tonnes)
Single axles and single axle groups
Single steer axle on:
(a) a complying bus	6.5
(b) any other motor vehicle	6.0
Single axle or single axle group fitted with single tyres with section width of:
(a) less than 375 mm	6.0
(b) at least 375 mm but less than 450 mm	6.7
(c) at least 450 mm	7.0
Single axle or single axle group fitted with dual tyres on:
(a) a pig trailer	8.5
(b) a complying bus or a bus licensed to carry standing passengers	10.0
(c) any other vehicle	9.0
Twinsteer axle groups
Twinsteer axle group without a load‑sharing suspension system	10.0
Twinsteer axle group with a load‑sharing suspension system	11.0
Tandem axle groups
Tandem axle group fitted with single tyres with section width of:
(a) less than 375 mm	11.0
(b) at least 375 mm but less than 450 mm	13.3
(c) at least 450 mm	14.0
Tandem axle group fitted with single tyres on one axle and dual tyres on the other axle on:
(a) a complying bus	14.0
(b) any other vehicle	13.0
Tandem axle group fitted with dual tyres on:
(a) a pig trailer	15.0
(b) any other vehicle	16.5
Tri‑axle groups
Tri‑axle group on a vehicle fitted with single tyres with section width of less than 375 mm on all axles, or single tyres on 1 or 2 axles and dual tyres on the other axle or axles	15.0
Tri‑axle group on a pig trailer with either single tyres with section width of at least 375 mm, dual tyres on all axles, or a combination of those tyres	18.0
Tri‑axle group, on a vehicle other than a pig trailer, with either single tyres with section width of at least 375 mm, dual tyres, or a combination of those tyres	20.0
Quad‑axle groups
Quad‑axle group fitted with single tyres with section width of less than 375 mm	15.0
Quad‑axle group fitted with single tyres with section width of at least 375 mm or dual tyres	20.0

Note: Subclause 4.2(1) of the Schedule to the Road Transport Reform (Heavy Vehicle Standards) Regulations requires axles in all axle groups except twinsteer axle groups to relate to each other through a load‑sharing suspension system.

1.3 Mass limits relating to axle spacing

(1) If the total mass of a vehicle or a combination, and any load, cannot lawfully exceed 42.5 tonnes, the mass limits in Table 2 must not be exceeded in relation to the distances set out in the Table that apply to the vehicle or combination. (2) Each distance in the Table refers to: (a) the distance from the centre of any single axle to the centre of any other single axle; or (b) the distance from the centre of any single axle to the centre of the furthest axle in any axle group; or (c) the greatest distance between the centres of axles in any 2 axle groups.

Deep Dive

What it does

Current sections

Name of Regulations

1 Name of Regulations

Commencement

2 Commencement

Road transport legislation—mass and loading

3 Road transport legislation—mass and loading

Interpretation

4 Interpretation

Application of the mass and loading requirements

5 Application of the mass and loading requirements

Compliance with requirements—motor vehicles

6 Compliance with requirements—motor vehicles

Compliance with requirements—trailers

7 Compliance with requirements—trailers

Compliance with requirements—combinations

8 Compliance with requirements—combinations

Proof of loading offences

9 Proof of loading offences

Penalty for an offence

10 Penalty for an offence

Multiple offences

11 Multiple offences

Failure to comply with certain exemption conditions

12 Failure to comply with certain exemption conditions

Declaring buses to be complying buses

13 Declaring buses to be complying buses

Schedule—Mass and loading requirements

Schedule—Mass and loading requirements

Mass limits

Schedule—Mass and loading requirements

Part 1—Mass limits

1.1 Mass limit for a single vehicle

1.2 Mass limits for tyres, wheels and axles

1.3 Mass limits relating to axle spacing

1.4 Mass limits for combinations

Part 2—Size and projection of loads

2.1 Size limits

2.2 Front and side projections

2.3 Rear projections

2.4 Dangerous projections

Part 3—Placing and securing loads

3.1 Loading obligations

3.2 Trailers

Part 4—Interpretation

4.1 Definitions

Mass limit for a single vehicle

1.1 Mass limit for a single vehicle

Mass limits for tyres, wheels and axles

1.2 Mass limits for tyres, wheels and axles

Mass limits relating to axle spacing

1.3 Mass limits relating to axle spacing

Mass limits for combinations

1.4 Mass limits for combinations

Size and projection of loads

Schedule—Mass and loading requirements

Part 1—Mass limits

1.1 Mass limit for a single vehicle

1.2 Mass limits for tyres, wheels and axles

1.3 Mass limits relating to axle spacing

1.4 Mass limits for combinations

Part 2—Size and projection of loads

2.1 Size limits

2.2 Front and side projections

2.3 Rear projections

2.4 Dangerous projections

Part 3—Placing and securing loads

3.1 Loading obligations

3.2 Trailers

Part 4—Interpretation

4.1 Definitions

Size limits

2.1 Size limits

Front and side projections

2.2 Front and side projections

Source text: opening excerpt

1 Name of Regulations

1 Name of Regulations